Cyber Security

“As custom government malware becomes an increasingly common international weapon with real-world effects—breaking a centrifuge, shutting down a power grid, scrambling control systems—do we need legal limits on the automated decision-making of worms and rootkits? Do we, that is, need to keep a human in charge of their spread, or

“A FOREX trading website has been contaminated with a malicious Java applet that is designed to install malware on the systems of visiting surfers. The targeted website is a popular FOREX (foreign exchange market) website called ‘Trading Forex’ (tradingforex.com). The website remains contaminated as of Thursday lunchtime according to Websense,

“Microsoft Security Essentials, Redmond’s free antivirus tool for home users and business with up to ten PCs, can detect just 64 per cent of zero-day threats when running under Windows 7. That low detection rate has cost it the AV-TEST Institute’s seal of approval, a certification it hands out to

“Some 91% of cyberattacks begin with a ‘spear phishing’ email, according to research from security software firm Trend Micro. Spear phishing is an increasingly common form of phishing that makes use of information about a target to make attacks more specific and ‘personal’.” Source:91% of cyberattacks begin with spear phishing

“Butterfield Bank has been targeted in another online e-mail scam, this one using the real name and contact details of an actual bank employee. This fraudulent e-mail correspondence asks customers to update their security questions on their online account. There is an embedded link encouraging unsuspecting victims to ‘Get started’

“The internet has been cut off and mobile phones have been disrupted in Syria, monitoring firms have said. Networking firm Renesys said the country’s connection protocols were unreachable, ‘effectively removing the country from the internet’.” Source: BBC News – Syria: Internet and mobile communication ‘cut off’

“In yet another example of the inevitable intersection between cyberespionage and cybercrime, an infamous cyberspying tool out of China has been upgraded and used in targeted attacks for financial gain, not pure cyberespionage. “ Source: Chinese Cyberespionage Tool Updated For Traditional Cybercrime – Dark Reading

“For three years, a group of hackers from China waged a relentless campaign of cyber harassment against Solid Oak Software Inc., Milburn’s family-owned, eight-person firm in Santa Barbara, California. The attack began less than two weeks after Milburn publicly accused China of appropriating his company’s parental filtering software, CYBERsitter, for

“A miniature ‘cyber-city’ has been created in New Jersey, complete with a bank, hospital, water-tower, train system, power grid and a coffee shop.” Source: BBC News – US military train in cyber-city to prepare hack defence

“The UN nuclear agency has acknowledged that one of its computer servers was hacked by an anti-Israeli group. The IAEA said a previously unknown group called Parastoo had posted contact details for more than 100 nuclear experts on the group’s website.” Source: BBC News – Anti-Israel group hacks UN nuclear